Peter Dinklage’s Role in ‘Destiny’ Has Been Recast

Bungie’s ambitious video game project Destiny was released last September, and quickly made waves as the highest selling new IP in video game history. Reviews were generally positive, though some were disappointed that the massively hyped MMO/first-person shooter didn’t meet the stratospheric expectations that were created due to this being the first video game from the acclaimed Halo creators since 2010’s Halo: Reach. One relatively minor aspect of criticism generally revolved around the character of the Ghost — the player’s robotic assistant and companion — and the somewhat deadpan performance delivered in the part by the distinctive voice of Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”).

Now, though, Bungie has decided to take the Ghost character in a different direction that will be felt in both new material, and all of the game’s pre-existing content. According to Game Informer, Bungie has decided to recast the role of the Ghost, in essence deleting Dinklage’s performance from Destiny in favor of their new performer: video game voice actor extraordinaire Nolan North.

North — who is likely best known to fans as the voice of Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series, Marvel’s Deadpool in multiple games and animated projects, and the Penguin in the Batman: Arkham game series — was originally brought onboard to voice the Ghost in the game’s upcoming third expansion The Taken King, when Bungie reportedly made the decision to re-record all of the character’s previous dialogue with North’s voice. Bungie’s creative director Luke Smith said of the change,

We wanted Nolan North’s version of the Ghost to wake you up at the start of the journey at level one and follow you all the way to level forty.

North himself seems enthusiastic about the role, saying that he found it interesting to give him a level of personality without detracting from the fact that he’s an artificial intelligence.

I was really excited to do this role. You want to give him as much personality as the world will allow, without making it unbelievable. There’s a fine line to walk there, and I think we found it. […] It’s interesting, because at one point they find another Ghost that’s been killed. A Ghost is not just something that can be turned back on. It has an idea of ending. It understands mortality. It has a vested interest in helping you succeed.

North also discussed the role’s changing hands, specifically saying that he wanted to bring something new to it without hearing anything that had been done before.

They really wanted me to put my stamp on it. They let me bring what I wanted to the role. You have to give it your own spin. For that reason, I specifically said I didn’t want to hear anything that someone else had done, so that I didn’t have some preconceived notion of what it has to be. Instead, I just gave it my stamp, and let them direct me accordingly.

Destiny: The Taken King will be released on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on September 15th. For more on the game as it develops further, keep it locked on GeekNation!